So for Halloween we went over to my first-cousin-once-removed Kate's house for soup chili (which in Texas is chili with beans, which is just what chili is in California) and some trick or treating with baby Grant (my second cousin) who is adorable. Jamie made a reappearance as Joaquin Phoenix (I practically had to beat people off him, he was a hit) and I buzzed my hair again and went as G.I. Jane.
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| See, I told you Baby Grant was adorable. |
A few of my cousins and us went out to Sixth Street, which is nationally infamous, but especially for Halloween. Luckily it was a little tamer being a Wednesday and we could keep our group together fairly well (even after a few drinks) as we wound our way through the crowds. I wish we had spent more time people watching and less time bar hopping, but oh well.
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| Cousin Kate (dressed as a witch but lost her hat within 30 minutes of arriving downtown, haha), Baby Grant (was an astronaut), me, Jamie, Cousin-in-law Brooke (Corpse Bride)! |
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| Brooke trying on the Mario Head... and Paul, Kate's husband (who went as a "hippie," haha) |
I spent most of Thursday recovering from Wednesday (we were out til 2:30am, blergh... my recovery consisted mostly of reorganizing my Pinterest boards... I am ashamed), and in the evening we had a delicious dinner of steak and roasted veggies to celebrate my cousin Alex's birthday! Uncle Grant is really good at making steak... yum! It was a lot of fun, I am so glad we are able to get to know my cousins because they are awesome. =)
Friday we went out shooting (which I did not enjoy) and then we got real Texas BBQ. BBQ in California means grilled meat. BBQ in Texas means, very specifically, smoked brisket or ribs, and it is DELICIOUS. Don't you ever use to term "BBQ" around me unless you mean smoked brisket or I will give you a very dirty look. I didn't much care for shooting, at least not in an indoor range (I might try again if the shooting is happening outdoors)... it was loud and intimidating and guns are freaking POWERFUL... I do not ever want to get shot. Nor do I ever want to shoot anything. =P Unless maybe they are trying to kill me, in which case I'm very glad I kind of know how to shoot a handgun.
Today Uncle Grant and Aunt Jyl took us on a little driving tour of Austin, which was very nice. We saw the UT campus and the Capitol building, and Lake Travis. Then we went grocery shopping in a fancy store (SO MUCH WINE AND CHEESE! If I could only shop one place the rest of my life, let it be there) to get stuff for dinner that Jamie and I are making tonight! We are doing a repeat because it was so good in Redding: Homestyle Mac N Cheese with beer bread, sausage, asparagus and homemade pumpkin pie for dessert!
It was a whirlwind week... I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow morning already! We had a lot of fun in Austin, and (I sound like a broken record) I wish we could stay longer... We barely scratched the surface of this city and I'm sad to leave even MORE awesome relatives. =(
Onward to Nashville!
